TITLE: Can't Stop Now
RATING: PG
SEASON: Set season 8 during 'Threads' between Jacob's death and the fishing trip to Jack's cabin
SPOILERS: 'Chimera', 'Affinity', 'Threads'… basically anything with the Spud. 'Entity'
CATERGORY: Romance/HC
PAIRING: Sam/Jack
SUMMARY: I just don't think that Sam would've handled Jacob's rather sudden, unexpected death so calmly and rationally, especially considering the young age at which she lost her mother. It's just a missing scene that I think may have occurred during 'Threads'.
WARNINGS: None.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. If I did Sam and Jack would be married with a daughter named Grace by now and Pete would never have existed
Sam practically sprinted up the steps to her house, opened her front door in record time and angrily slammed it shut behind her, not caring that it nearly came off its hinges with the force she exerted upon it. At this point Sam paused and glanced around her. Her house was quiet, eerily so, and at that moment it felt less like a home and more like a cold, uninviting house that served as a reminder that she'd just thrown away the only chance she'd probably ever get at not ending up a lonely, old spinster. She needed to get out but where to?
Sam spotted her running shoes sitting by the door and decided that a nice long run was the order of the day. Or evening. Whatever. Within five minutes Sam had changed into her tracksuit and trainers and was heading out of the door. As soon as her feet hit the sidewalk she was off at a pace that would rival an Olympic gold medalist and she didn't look back.
……………………………………………………………………..
Footsteps thud, thud, thudding against the concrete, the whooshing of the wind sweeping past her ears, the ice cold drops of rain that splashed tirelessly against her burning cheeks, the burning of her lungs and the pounding of her heart, the sting of warm tears sliding down her face, that was all that Sam was aware of at that precise moment. As long as she focused intently on keeping her feet moving then all of those other thoughts could be pushed away to the corner of her mind she liked to describe as her 'denial centre' and she wouldn't have to think about them. Somehow, though, there were tears streaming mercilessly down her cheeks.
Dammit, Airman! Suck it up and stop crying, THAT'S AN ORDER!
Isn't that what she'd heard over and over again from her father when her mother had died? Her father…he was gone and this time there was no miracle cure, no Tok'Ra symbiote to save him. This time he was really gone. Forever.
Just like mom…Stop it, Colonel, what would Dad say if he could see you now?
One stride, then another. She could do this. As long as she focused on the direction her feet were carrying her then she could hold herself together.
………………………………………………………………………………….
It was times like these when Jack O'Neill thanked the Gods of 4x4s for the relative comfort of his truck. Outside it was pouring with rain and his truck's external temperature gauge read 4oC. Jack shivered involuntarily and pondered why the hell it was this cold when it was supposed to be spring as he turned up the heater to maximum. No matter, soon he'd be at home in front of his warm log fire with a nice bottle of bourbon and he could forget all about the outside world. As he glanced around the streets of Colorado Springs he could see that most of the town's residents had had the same idea. There wasn't a single person on the sidewalks and he'd only passed a handful of occupied cars since his exit from the freeway. Suddenly he spotted a figure up ahead. The driving rain blurred his ability to see clearly but from where he was he could at least tell that the woman was wearing running clothes and was setting one helluva pace for herself.
What the hell would possess anyone to go running in this weather?
He thought as he came closer. The closer he got, the more familiar the woman's movements became to him until it hit him like an anvil. Jack O'Neill did a double take to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him in the rain. Right height, Check. Correct build, Check. Pace of an Olympic athlete, Check. Military issue blonde hair style, Check. Jack cursed under his breath as he signalled to pull over next to the sidewalk and rolled down the passenger side window.
………………………………………………………………………………….
"Carter?"
Oh, great, now she was hearing voices as well!
Just wait 'til MacKenzie hears about this!
"Yoo hoo! Carter? Earth to Carter?"
Hang on, that voice sounded just a little too real to be in her head. Sam glanced to her left but didn't break her stride only to come face to, well, truck with a large black SUV driving alongside her. Glancing up a bit further she was rather shocked that the driver's face was that of Jack O'Neill.
"Sir!"
He smiled.
"Finally! I thought I was gonna have to run you over to get your attention!"
"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir."
She was still running full speed ahead.
"Carter?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"As much as I enjoy entertaining the local law enforcement with my antics, I'm really not in the mood to be arrested for kerb crawling, Colonel." Jack said glibly. Sam threw him a puzzled glance but didn't slow down.
"Sir?"
"Ah, Carter, think you could stop for a second?" All he got for a response was silence. He thought that maybe she hadn't heard him over the roar of the wind. He was about to repeat himself when she spoke.
"I can't stop now, Sir."
This time it was Jack's turn to look confused.
"Excuse me, Colonel?"
"I said I can't stop running, Sir."
He was completely taken aback by her response and opened his mouth to say so when something stopped him in his tracks. Her face was bright red and who could blame her, after all she'd been running in the freezing cold rain at 90 MPH and there were watery trails running down her face. However, upon closer inspection he could just make out the slight swelling of her eyes and the tear drop trails marking her usually flawless skin.
Oh crap!
"Carter- "
"I'm fine, Sir. Really. Just out for a run. Now if you'll excuse me, Sir, I really need to go." And with that she increased her speed so that she was overtaking his truck. If he hadn't wanted to leave before there was no way in Sokar that he was leaving her now! With a frustrated sigh he sped up, parked his truck 50 yards ahead of her along the sidewalk, yanked the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of his truck and into the monsoon. He stormed along the sidewalk towards her but she wasn't slowing down. He began to jog towards her and as she got within a few feet he reached out his hands to grip her biceps, halting her in her path.
"Sir, please…" she almost pleaded with him to let her go, "I have to-"
"NO! No you DON'T, Carter! What's wrong?" Sam refused to look at him so he placed a gentle hand under her chin and raised her head until she was at least eye level with him. He asked her again, this time with less gusto than before. "Carter. Sam. What's wrong?"
What? You mean besides the fact that her father just died, you idiot!
His internal voice screamed.
………………………………………………………………………..
She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold herself together. As it was it was taking all of her strength to stop herself from shaking, she wasn't sure she could stop herself from opening the flood gates if she looked into his eyes. Suddenly his hand was under her chin and slowly lifting her eyes to meet his. So much for that plan. As soon as she saw the anguish and fear in his eyes she broke.
……………………………………………………………………………….
No sooner had he glanced at her, her carefully guarded expression fell to reveal one that he sure as hell NEVER wanted to see for the rest of his life. When she finally looked him in the eye the sorrow and fear he saw were unlike any he had ever witnessed and it broke his heart. Silently the tears began to flow from her eyes as she desperately tried to compose herself and failed miserably. At a loss for what else to do he gently reached out to her and wrapped his strong arms around her, now shaking, shoulders.
"C'mere." He just stood and held her as she broke down completely and sobbed into his jacket for what seemed like an age. After many minutes the shaking subsided and she pulled away from him slightly, once again refusing to look him in the eye, and sniffed.
"Well, I'd say we could've banished that witch several times over by now, dontcha think, Dorothy?" He was rewarded with a suspicious-sounding hiccup that, if not for her current appearance, he might've mistaken for a laugh. "Well, I don't know about you but I think I need to go and find a dry bale of straw to refill my boots!" He grinned briefly before becoming more serious. "Come on Carter, we need to get you out of those wet clothes before you catch hypothermia!" He proceeded to blush slightly as he realized the implications of what he'd just said but Sam didn't seem to have noticed. "In my truck, Colonel, that's an order!" And with that he ushered her towards the dry warmth of his truck.